


thinkin' of a sweet romance

by perksofbeingaiko



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Robron Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 10:23:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14134107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perksofbeingaiko/pseuds/perksofbeingaiko
Summary: Robron Week - Day Five: Firsts/BeginningAaron and Robert meet-cute at an airport





	thinkin' of a sweet romance

5:00 AM was a difficult time.

Robert's body ached from the cold as he shuffled into his sister's car, the hot air of the heater blowing directly over his face and pushing Vic's hair back as she switched on her headlights. The whole world was still quiet. A few people were out jogging or getting an early start to their day, but everything felt solitary at dawn.

She had dropped him off at the airport with a long hug and promises to text updates to her about his journey. "I'll pick you up here on Monday, alright?" she said. "Mum's got a doctor's appointment so she'll be usin' my car. Might be a bit late."

Robert had just nodded and waved her off.

He felt lethargic as he made his way through the airport. One connecting flight to Dublin and a three hour stopover, then he'd be on an eight hour flight to JFK. The idea of it all, mixed with a disgraceful lack of coffee, exhausted him.

He had spent the flight into Dublin in a daze. The flight wasn't long enough for him to do much outside of staring blankly ahead. He'd tried to read, but his head had throbbed and his stomach turned from the motion sickness, so he was left just to sit.

And if 5:00 AM was difficult, 7:00 AM was ungodly.

As Robert rolled his carry-on through Dublin airport, he could feel the beginnings of a migraine start to form. 7:00 AM was still the wrong side of early, but now there was commotion. Over-tired parents dragging whining children to their terminals, layover passengers wandering through the kiosks and shops to pass the time, and the vague wafting of overpriced coffee clinging to the air.

They always say never to travel on weekends, and try to take an early flight to avoid the crowds, but here, on a Tuesday at 7:17 AM, the airport felt liminal. There were too many people, but no one in his vicinity. Everything felt overly loud, but people still spoke in hushed tones despite the announcements over the intercom. As Robert sat himself down in one of the chairs at his gate, amongst only three other passengers, nothing about this space or time felt real.

His flight was set to leave at 9:45 AM, boarding starting at 9:15 AM, and it felt like ages away. He sent a text off to his sister and mum letting them know his whereabouts before doing his best to pass the time.

There were handfuls of people milling around the same waiting area as him, but the people watching was sparse. There was a man wheeling three different carry-on bags with him as his two kids pressed their faces up against the window to point at the planes that taxied down the runway. Directly behind Robert were two elderly women gossiping about their sister’s newest husband, and apparently he looked just like her first ex-husband from the 70’s.

His lower back started to ache, and he really should have known better than to try and get comfortable. Experience taught him that all airports were the same and that the seats were a lie, providing a faux sense of comfort that ended up agitating him with the way the cold metal of the armrests sat at just the right height for Robert to bang his knees against, and the seat’s back sat up at just the right angle so that he could never really relax.

Growing restless, Robert tried pulling out his phone, but with the dodgy airport Wi-Fi and his service bar flickering between one bar and “No Service,” it felt like it was taunting him.

Robert leaned forward, moving out of the ray of sunlight that had been determined to blind him for the last ten minutes. Across from him, he saw someone situate themselves into the seat and he spared them a moment's glance before looking back to his phone. Something about the man caught his eye, which was surprising in itself. The man was dressed head to toe in black with earbuds firmly in place. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him, but Robert felt his gaze drag over the man's features.

This guy – this _stranger_ \- was ticking boxes left and right of Robert’s type. His eyes were the first thing Robert noticed. They were the type of blue that almost didn’t feel real, and framed against his dark hair and coarse beard, Robert couldn’t stop starting. The energy in the room felt like it shifted and the man looked over at Robert before they both looked away quickly out of instinct.

Glancing back up, he let himself look again, noting that he had a build like he could handle himself if things got physical. It wasn’t that Robert always had a thing for muscles, but he appreciated competence, and this bloke gave off an air of _capability_ that screamed that there was nothing delicate about him.

His phone buzzed in his hand, snapping him out of his gaze and stopping him from accidentally objectifying the man.

**From: Victoria (8:27 AM)**   
_How's your wait going? Gone mad yet?_

**To: Victoria (8:27 AM)**   
_It's only been an hour Vic. Hardly losing my will to live yet_   
_Plus, it's not all bad_   
_Got something to look at in the meantime_   
_Or someONE_

**From: Victoria (8:29 AM)**   
_Well go on let’s see then :)_

Around him, a rush of people started to take up the seats, and Robert took that as an opportunity. He crossed one leg and flipped his phone over in his hand a couple of times before _casually_ opening the camera and _casually_ angling his phone to get a proper shot without looking too conspicuous. The framing was a little off, and with the zoom the bloke’s face got more pixelated, but Vic would understand. It was what they did.

He once got a photo off her from a festival she had done where the guy was halfway through stuffing his face with a mushroom and Swiss burger, oils and grease dripping, but his jaw was cut and his muscles were bigger than Victoria’s head. Neither of them were particularly fond of the body builder type, but they could extend their appreciation where it was due.

Robert zoomed in just as the guy dropped his head to the side. The sunshine from the windows illuminated him white gold and he knew he only had a moment before the man would be disturbed by the light.

Just as he took the photo, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Excuse me, d’you mind moving so we can sit together?” an older man asked him, pointing at the seat across from Robert that happened to be right next to the man of his recent affections. Robert hesitated for a moment, but gathered his stuff and shifted over to the next seat, trying not to jostle too much and disturb the man.

Being this close felt exciting, like he was a teenager again and he was sitting next to his crush, and he had to laugh at himself for how ridiculous he was being. He sent the photo off to Victoria, careful not to show his screen toward the man, and leaned back. Unthinkingly, he crossed his leg again, but this time he kicked his rolling luggage until it teetered and fell onto the guy’s duffle bag.

They’d both reacted at the same time, reaching for Robert’s bag to right it and it turned into an awkward scramble. The man took out his earbuds and smiled at him, and Robert swore his heart stopped for a beat.

“Sorry,” Robert said, forcing himself to speak. It felt vital not to let this moment pass, and no one could ever say Robert wasn’t opportunistic.

“S’alright. Just clothes,” the man said, kicking his own bag. “I pack light.”

Robert gave a mock grimace, eyeing his own things. “I’m only going for a few days but I still managed to pack my entire life’s belongings it feels like.” The man nodded and Robert blurted out, “I’m Robert, by the way.”

“Aaron,” the man clarified, pointing to himself needlessly. “What’re you in New York for?”

“Business,” Robert answered, and Aaron looked unimpressed.

“Business? Hm. _Vague_ ,” Aaron said after a pause, and Robert got the hint.

“It’s a conference they’re doing. My sister and I run a restaurant together and there’s a training course on the management end of it all. Y’know, ways to improve your dining areas and different apps that we can use to stay on top of our ordering procedures. It’s mostly a front to network with other international owners and get ideas off them instead,” Robert said, and Aaron nodded slowly.

“Impressive,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms in front of himself, keeping his eyes on Robert. There was a hint of something dancing behind his eyes and the way he flashed a small smile when Robert’s eyes dragged across Aaron’s features, and Robert knew flirting when he saw it.

He leaned against their joint armrest, and he realized that he was gravitating toward Aaron. Usually it was him that did the leading, letting others chase him until he got what he wanted from them, but with Aaron it was different. Robert was more than willing to let Aaron pull him in and lead the way.

“What about you then? What’s New York got to offer you?”

“Nothing,” Aaron shrugged. “I booked my flight last minute so I’ve got a stop there before I go to Philly.”

“Philadelphia? What’s there?” Robert asked, trying to even think of what state Philadelphia was even in.

“A wedding. A mate of mine I met here when I lived in Dublin’s gettin’ married there. According to him, there’s a great ‘gay scene’ out there, so he moved and fell in love, and here we are. He reckons I’ll like it so much I’ll want to move meself.”

Aaron was baiting him, waiting to see how Robert would react, and Robert had every intent on giving him what he wanted. “Well, you’ll have to let me know how it goes. Might be worth checking out for myself,” he said, and without so many words, they both knew they were on the same page.

Robert’s phone vibrated against his thigh, and he thought to ignore it until it vibrated again and again with incoming messages.

**From: Victoria (8:50 AM)**   
_:O_   
_Robert!_   
_Where do you keep finding these guys_   
_If you don’t take him I will_

“What’s that?” Aaron asked, and his voice sounded steady but harder than it had been. Robert looked up and saw Aaron pointing down to his phone where the creeper picture he had taken of Aaron stared back at him, displayed on the screen clear as day.

Robert fumbled with his phone to lock it, and started to stutter out an excuse, but Aaron cut him off.

“Were you taking pictures of me?” he asked, and that air of power Robert had thought was so hot before was now being used against him.

“No! Well, yeah, but not like that! It was just to my sister, I wasn’t posting it anywhere. See?” Robert unlocked his phone to show Aaron. “I was just tellin’ her I thought you were fit, and it’s kind of a thing we do. We send each other photos of people we see, but we don’t do anything with the photos. It’s just meant for us, I promise.”

He scrolled through the images between them, some of boys and some of girls from the both of them. Aaron took Robert’s phone and scrolled back to the photo of himself. Robert wasn’t sure what to expect, and he held his breath.

Aaron clicked his tongue. “You couldn’t have even sent her a good photo?” he finally said, and Robert felt like he had deflated with how quickly the tightness in his chest left him. Aaron closed the message and started scrolling through Robert’s apps before finding the camera. He turned to the front facing camera and stretched his arm out before looking back at Robert with a raised eyebrow.

“Well?” Aaron said and Robert rolled his eyes with a laugh before pushing his hair back until it looked nice enough. He looked up at the camera and smiled when Aaron did. Aaron must have found it acceptable which Robert couldn’t believe - _25 minutes to take a good photo and he gets it in one?_ – because he pulled open Vic’s message again.

**To: Victoria (9:01 AM)**   
_Hi Victoria this is Aaron. Thanks for your interest but I reckon your brother is more my type. Also, tell Robert to watch himself in airports. There could be people taking stalker photos of him. You just never know these days._

He sent the message with the photo attached and passed the phone over to Robert to read.

_More my type. More my type. More my type._

“Great, I’ll never hear the end of this one,” Robert said, thankful he didn’t just blurt out his love right there in the middle of the airport terminal. “And I wasn’t _stalking_ you.”

“Never said you were, mate,” Aaron winked.

Before he could say anything more, the flight attendant took to her microphone and started her announcement. “Good morning passengers for flight 291 out of Dublin Airport-” she began, but Robert was distracted when the distinct sound of a camera shutter went off to his left.

Robert blinked at Aaron. “Did you just take a photo of me?”

“Yup,” Aaron answered, popping the ‘p’ and never looking up from his phone. “I’ve got a sister, too. She won’t care, but she’ll still think it’s a laugh.

“Let me see it at least,” Robert said, reaching for Aaron’s phone but he pulled it out of his grasp as he laughed.

“Hang on!” Aaron kept typing with one hand while he kept Robert away with his other arm, nearly hitting a person who walked by them with his extended arm. “Alright, sent. Here,” he said, passing the phone over to Robert for him to see.

The photo was unflattering. It got him at an angle where his chin looked weird and his mouth was slightly agape. “I’m deleting this,” he said, closing the messages to find Aaron’s photos but Aaron tugged his phone away.

“What? No way.”

“Aaron, that photo is awful. I’m more chin than man,” Robert argued.

Aaron went back to his messages to find the photo and smiled. “No, I want to keep it,” he said, and maybe he was meant to be joking, but his voice sounded softer, like he really meant it. As if realizing he’d lost himself for a moment, Aaron cleared his throat, the teasing tone back in his voice. “You could always send me that one we sent to your sister. Fair’s fair, innit?”

Robert squinted. “Are you asking for my number?”

“Well, I was more tryin’ to give you mine, but I suppose. Reckon we board in a few minutes, so I don’t really have much chance left.” Aaron opened up a new contact and passed Robert his phone. They exchanged numbers silently, and Robert felt a strange finality to it. This was meant to symbolize a promise that they’d keep in touch after today, but Robert knew that things might change when they weren’t immediately in each other’s orbit.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll begin boarding in just a few moments. If I could have rows A through C begin lining up, we’ll open the doors shortly,” the flight attendant announced, and that was Robert’s cue.

“Where are you seated?” he asked Aaron, wanting to drag out the time he had just a little longer.

“G 24. You?”

“A 17,” Robert answered, and they both knew their time was up. “Hey, um, text me if the wedding gets boring. Or, whenever,” Robert said as he stood, patting off invisible lint before grabbing the handle of his luggage.

“I will,” Aaron said, and Robert wasn’t sure if he should go or not when Aaron didn’t stand, but the beats ticked on and Aaron didn’t move, so with an awkward wave, Robert made his way to the line.

Boarding was stressful, but it always was. Despite having assigned seating, people nearly always pushed to somehow make the line go faster, then spent years trying to situate their things in the overhead. Robert had gotten the seat by the window because he’d intended on sleeping the whole way to New York, but he wasn’t sure he could stop the way his foot shook with his need to see Aaron one last time as he boarded.

Aaron must have felt the same way, because once Aaron’s section started to board, he caught Aaron glancing around the cabin, searching him out. They shared a smile from across the way before he took his seat, and Robert felt the distance between them like it was tangible.

He went to his phone and pulled up the photo of himself and Aaron, ignoring Vic’s wall of double texts to get his first chance to really look at it properly. Aaron’s eyes were still that brilliant shade of blue, and he still had that gorgeous dark hair, but there was suddenly so much more. Where Robert saw a man who looked nothing more than physical, he now saw something soft and genuine behind his eyes. It was in the way his eyes crinkled as he smiled, and the way Robert wanted to hear his voice again so he could appreciate how light it sounded.

He started a text to Aaron, making sure to include the photo and a rolling eye emoji next to a plane emoji. It wasn’t much, but he needed to say _something_ to him. The seconds rolled by and there was no response, and Robert couldn’t really see Aaron comfortably from where he was sat. Sighing, he resigned himself to the flight, thankful that the man next to him didn’t have an offensive smell and didn’t chat inanely at him.

Robert busied himself by putting his iPad in the pouch in front of him even though he wasn’t supposed to, when he heard Aaron’s voice.

“Hey mate, will you trade seats with me?” he asked the man next to Robert.

“Err, no,” the man said, trying to dismiss Aaron but Aaron wasn’t having it.

“Look, I’m in the aisle seat and everythin’. I just want to sit with him, so please?”

The man looked at Robert who smiled awkwardly and then back at Aaron before rising from his seat to scan the area Aaron pointed at. The flight attendant was making her rounds and making sure seatbelts were fastened, and Robert nearly pushed the man out of the seat in his urgency.

He must not have seen anything off-putting because he gathered his bag and excused himself from the row, allowing Aaron to slide into the middle seat and buckle himself in.

Aaron blew out an exaggerated breath. “I’m glad he moved, otherwise that would’ve been embarrassin’.”

“You do realize you’re going to be stuck with me for over seven hours, right?” Robert teased, and Aaron looked at him in mock-horror.

“Do you think he’ll switch back with me?” he asked, wide eyed, and Robert just elbowed him in the arm.

“Funny,” Robert deadpanned, and he felt his heart leap in his chest, nearly fit to burst out of him. There was that same teenager giddiness he was feeling, and this time he didn’t even want to try and pretend it wasn’t there.

They’d spend the hours talking about where they lived - _about 40 minutes apart, but if things went well, they’d make it work_ \- and about their families and their hobbies. He didn’t know it then, or maybe he did, but Robert was going to fall in love over the course of that plane ride, and an entirely different journey was just about to begin.

For now, as they taxied out and prepared for departure, Robert relished in how close Aaron was and how he _chose_ to be here with Robert like this. It was unconventional, but he would learn quickly that everything between them always would be, and he was ready for anything, bracing himself for whatever would come next.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm at [strongboyfriends](http://strongboyfriends.tumblr.com/)


End file.
